A Season, a Time and a Word
Season - an indefinite period of time
Time - a measured or measurable period
Word - a brief remark or conversation
Would it ever end? I was certain I felt myself aging. There I was, waiting for it to be over and waiting for the Lord to return - wondering which would happen first. The place? Prayer meeting!
I was seven. At that time, prayer was probably around number 208 on my list of priorities. I mean, after all God already knew our needs. He also already knew the future. So in my highly educated and intelligent seven-year-old mind, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't understand. If God knew what we needed and knew what we were going to ask for when we prayed, then locking ourselves in the church for what seemed to be an endless period of time to tell God what He already knew, seemed to me like a great big waste of time.
You see, during those days over thirty years ago, the saints met frequently for what they called a "season" of prayer. In the little church where I grew up in Green Pond, Alabama, they were serious about it. They met with the intent and purpose to pray until something happened. If it took 30 minutes, fine. If it took five hours, that was fine too.
Jump forward a few years and more and more you began to hear the phrase "a time of prayer." Oh yes, make no mistake, there was still prayer meeting - it just didn't last quite as long. No more meeting to pray until you hear from heaven, now we were more on a time schedule. Okay God, you have from 7:00 - 8:00 PM on Monday night to show up, or we'll have to catch you next week. A "season" had somehow evolved to "a time."
Jump forward a few more years to our fast paced, push-button society where we've become accustomed to getting everything in a hurry. No more taking days or weeks to travel across country by horse or train admiring the beauty of the landscape that God created. Now we get on a plane and in two hours or less we can get 1,000 miles in any direction. No more taking hours to thaw something. Just pop it in the microwave and the same result is accomplished in mere minutes.
Wouldn't you know it? The church has also progressed. How many times in your local service or at larger events do we pause now to have a "word" of prayer?
How interesting. We have gone from a season, to a time, to a word. To borrow wisdom from Webster's dictionary, it would seem we have gone from "an indefinite period of prayer, to a measured or measurable period of prayer, to a brief remark or conversation with God."
It would almost seem that with all of our computers, gadgets and modern-day conveniences to help us save time, we have gotten so busy that we have almost phased prayer out completely. Makes me wonder about scriptures like:
1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Apostle Paul tells believers to "pray without ceasing."
Luke 21:36 - Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man.
While I know that we can't pray non-stop due to work schedules and the need for sleep, but speaking for myself, I could definitely dedicate more time to prayer. There are times when all we have time to do is utter a "word" of prayer. Other times our schedule may be a little more flexible, allowing us to devote a little "time" to prayer. But let us not forget that periodically, we must not neglect having a "season" of prayer. No matter how busy, periodically we must give ourselves to an extended period of seeking God. We need that - He does too!
I was at a church last week and someone told the congregation to just "breathe a prayer."
I wonder what will be next. God help us!
Lisa Marshall
Strategic Prayer Coordinator
World Network of Prayer
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MINISTRY
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MINISTRY: Louis and Martha Johnson (Ethiopia/Rwanda), Richard and Patricia Porter (Swaziland), Jerry and Brenda Sawyer (Belize), Howard and Vonda Smith (Spain), Brad and Regina Thompson (Guatemala), Robert and Gayle Frizzell (Asia), Ken and Kay Burgess (Argentina)
A.I.M. - Associates in Missions: Kelsey Griffin - AIM Evangelist (Inter-regional), Christopher and Deborah Griffiths - Russia (EME) FULL-TIME EVANGELIST: Timothy J. Luz - Apopka, FL, Jonathan Maki - Dewitt, MI, George C. Malloy - Lawton, OK
BIBLE SCHOOLS: Texas Bible College, Gateway College of Evangelism
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WNOP'S PERSONAL REQUESTS
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To minister to the needs of others through prayer, click here to pray over WNOP's personal prayer list.
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STATE FOCUS - Hawaii
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The state focus this week is Hawaii. Please pray for Governor Linda Lingle and Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka. Please pray for all district officials, home missionaries and pastors.
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WORLD NEEDS
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CALCUTTA, India - A speeding express train plowed into a stationary passenger train in eastern India on Monday, killing 61 people in a crash so powerful it sent the roof of one car flying onto an overpass. Officials said they could not rule out sabotage.
Residents crawled over the twisted wreckage trying desperately to free survivors before rescue workers arrived with heavy equipment to cut through the metal. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the site, raised the possibility the crash could have been another case of sabotage, two months after Maoist rebels were blamed for a derailment that killed 145 people. "We have some doubts in our mind," she said.
The crash happened about 2 a.m. when the Uttarbanga Express slammed into the Vananchal Express as it left the platform at Sainthia station, about 125 miles north of Calcutta. The accident destroyed two passenger cars and a luggage car, turning them into a tangle of twisted metal. The passenger cars were reserved for those on the cheapest tickets and such carriages are usually packed to capacity.
The force of the crash was so intense the roof of one car flew into the air and landed on an overpass above the tracks. Local residents climbing through the debris searching for survivors were later joined by rescue workers using heavy equipment to cut through the metal.
Rescuers recovered 61 bodies from the crash site and 125 other people were injured, said Surajit Kar Purkayastha, a top police official. The two drivers of the Uttarbanga Express were among the dead, Banerjee said. Rescue teams arrived about three hours after the accident, a local resident said. Before that locals scrambled to help survivors out of the trains and to pull out bodies.
By late Monday afternoon, rescue operations were nearly complete, said Samir Goswami, a railway spokesman. Cranes and laborers were working to remove the mangled coaches so the tracks could be cleared and train services resumed.
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While we continue to pray that the efforts to stop the oil leak in the gulf will continue to be successful, let us not forget to pray for the families of the eleven people who lost their lives in the explosion.
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SEEKING THE KING
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Proclaiming God's glory -
Take a few moments to praise God for who He is.
Have each person in the group share who God is to them (in one or two words) (Ex. Jehovah-Jireh (Provider), friend, savior) When everyone is done, take a moment to praise God for being that to you.
For more of this article click here.
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PRAYER QUOTE
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Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon. - Martin Luther
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FIND US ON FACEBOOK
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World Network of Prayer and Kids Prayer are now on Facebook. We will be posting pictures, urgent prayer needs, and prayer helps. Search for us and become a fan on the World Network of Prayer page and the World Network of Prayer Kids page.
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